Tombstone Tuesday- Catherine Geisler

Catherine Geisler, Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio. (2012 photo by Karen)

This is the tombstone of Catherine Geisler, located in row 10 of Zion Lutheran Cemetery, Schumm, Van Wert County, Ohio. The marker is inscribed:

Catherine
Geisler
Apr. 30, 1868
Mar. 23, 1913
GEISLER

“Catherine” Elisabeth Geisler was born in Willshire Township, Van Wert County, Ohio, on 30 April 1868, the daughter of George and Rosina (Hoffmann) Geisler. She had a twin sister, Anna Magdalene and the twin girls were baptized 3 May 1868, with Mrs. Magdalene Hoffmann, Mrs. Anna Baals, Mrs. Catharine Gayer, and Mrs. Elisabeth Geissler serving as their sponsors. Catherine’s twin sister Anna Magdalene was the second wife of “River Henry” Schumm.

The George Geisler family in 1870: George Geisler, 44, Ohio; Rosina, 41; Fredricka, 8; Magdalena, 2; Catherine, 2; Martin Schinnerer, 12; E Huffman Geisler, 13. [1]

Note that Martin Schinnerer (1858-1933) was living with the Geisler family. Martin was Catherine’s half-brother. Catherine’s mother Rosina (Hoffmann) was first married to Pankratius Schinnerer. They married in 1853 and had four children, three of them dying very young. Martin Schinnerer was their only child who lived to adulthood. Pankratius died in 1857 and widow Rosina (Hoffmann) Schinnerer married Georg Geissler on 12 August 1858. George and Rosina had five children. Catherine’s father Georg Geisler died in 1872 and her mother Rosina, widowed a second time, married Johann Lutz in 1877.

The John Lutz family in 1880: John Lutz, 33; Rosina, 51; Fredricka, 17; Catherine, 12; Magdalena, 12; Martin Schinnerer, 22; Adam Glessing, 30, farm labor. [2]

Catherine’s mother Rosina (Hoffmann) Geissler died 25 November 1899. Catherine entered the Toledo State Hospital about this time.

In 1900 and 1910 Catherine, single, was enumerated as a patient in the Toledo State Hospital. [3] [4]  

Catherine Geisler died in the Toledo State Hospital on 23 March 1913. Death was due to a cerebral hemorrhage. [5] She was 44 years, 10 months, and 23 days old and was buried on the 28th. She had been in the Toledo State Hospital for 15 years, which indicates that she was likely admitted there shortly before her mother passed away. Catherine was survived by her sister Anna Magdalena (Geisler) Schumm and her half-brother Martin Schinnerer. Catherine Geisler never married.  

Children of George and Rosina (Hoffman) Geisler, Catherine and her full siblings:

Conrad Christian Adam (1861-1863)
Catharine Fredricka (1863-bef 1900?), married Adam Glessing?
Johanna Margarethe Elisabeth (1865-1868)
Catharine Elisabeth (1868-1913)
Anna Magdalene (1868-1946), married “River Henry” Schumm

[1] 1870 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, p.435A, dwelling 82, family 83, George Geisler; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/ : viewed 13 Apr 2020).

[2] 1880 U.S. Census, Willshire, Van Wert, Ohio, ED 154, p.443A, family 5, John Lutz;  (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/ : viewed 13 Apr 2020)

[3] 1900 U.S. Census, Toledo, Ward 15, Lucas, Ohio, ED 113, p.6, dwelling & family 1, line 47, Catharine E Geisler, age 32; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602/ : viewed 13 Apr 2020).

[4] 1910 U.S. Census, Toledo, Ward 10, Lucas, Ohio, ED 131, p.3A, line 33, Catherine E Geisler, age 47; digital image by subscription, Ancestry.com  (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7884/ : viewed 13 Apr 2020).

[5] “Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953,” Toledo, Lucas, Catherine E Geisler, 23 Mar 1913; FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPJR-3CJ?i=2973&cc=1307272&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AX86K-HBW : viewed 13 Apr 2020).

2 comments

    • Carol Schumm Piper on April 14, 2020 at 10:26 am
    • Reply

    So Interesting! My Great Grandmothers twin sister!

    1. That’s right! Great to hear from you!

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